The White Castle Location Where No One Can Eat
Imagine going into a new restaurant that just opened up in town. As soon as you walk in, the man behind the counter tells you that this is not a restaurant. Of course, it is, you'll say; the sign outside says that this place is a restaurant. How could it be anything else? The man behind the counter tells you that, even if this is a restaurant, it's certainly not a real one. But there are tables and a kitchen in here, you'll argue; what kind of place has tables and a kitchen but doesn't serve food? The man behind the counter again tells you that they don't serve food here because, to repeat, this is not in any way, shape, or form a real working restaurant, no matter what the sign says. In fact, the man you're talking to isn't even a real employee.
The question of what exactly makes a restaurant real was posed to citizens of Atlanta, Georgia, who discovered that a new White Castle was setting up shop on Edgewood Avenue (via Atlanta Eater). While a new White Castle opening may not sound like groundbreaking news, it's the fact that it's not a "real" White Castle that makes it interesting. It's going to look like a White Castle inside and out, says Atlanta's Creative Loafing, but it's totally fictional. No one will be able to eat there or get any sliders.
The builders behind this fake White Castle are more surprising: Disney and Hollywood.
The fake White Castle is part of a Disney+ series
Ever flush with cash, Disney has sponsored the construction of a White Castle in downtown Atlanta, not in an attempt to enter the fast-food business, but to begin filming a brand-new Marvel series. Urbanize Atlanta explains that the White Castle will be used in the upcoming series "Ironheart," a spin-off of Iron Man coming to Disney+.
But why not just go to a city that actually has a White Castle instead of building a highly detailed facade of one? According to some sources, Urbanize Atlanta explains, the White Castle may be used in a very intense fight scene, so it's probably better that it's in a fake one instead of trashing a real one. The White Castle will look like a real, working restaurant, up until the point it gets razed at the end of filming.
This isn't the first time a fast-food restaurant has been built solely for show. In California, you'll find a McDonald's that, despite looking like any old McDonald's you'd see anywhere else, is blocked off by a fence. This is because it's not a "real" McDonald's, Roadside America explains, but a McDonald's used mainly in shows and commercials. The "restaurant" even comes in two designs to mimic both a suburban McDonald's and a McDonald's found in the city.
While folks around Edgewood Avenue may be impressed that Disney chose this part of town to film in, they'd probably be a lot happier with some sliders.